Overview
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
NATIONAL BESTSELLER"Electrifying" (People) - "Masterly" (The Guardian) - "Dramatic and memorable" (The New Yorker) - "Magic" (TIME) - "Ingenious" (The Financial Times) - "A gonzo literary performance" (Entertainment Weekly) - "Rare and splendid" (The Boston Globe) - "Remarkable" (USA Today) - "Delicious" (The New York Times) - "Book groups, meet your next selection" (NPR) In an American suburb in the early 1980s, students at a highly competitive performing arts high school struggle and thrive in a rarified bubble, ambitiously pursuing music, movement, Shakespeare, and, particularly, their acting classes. When within this striving "Brotherhood of the Arts," two freshmen, David and Sarah, fall headlong into love, their passion does not go unnoticed--or untoyed with--by anyone, especially not by their charismatic acting teacher, Mr. Kingsley. The outside world of family life and economic status, of academic pressure and of their future adult lives, fails to penetrate this school's walls--until it does, in a shocking spiral of events that catapults the action forward in time and flips the premise upside-down. What the reader believes to have happened to David and Sarah and their friends is not entirely true--though it's not false, either. It takes until the book's stunning coda for the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place--revealing truths that will resonate long after the final sentence. As captivating and tender as it is surprising, Susan Choi's Trust Exercise will incite heated conversations about fiction and truth, and about friendships and loyalties, and will leave readers with wiser understandings of the true capacities of adolescents and of the powers and responsibilities of adults.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9781250231260
- ISBN-10: 1250231264
- Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
- Publish Date: May 2020
- Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 0.54 pounds
- Page Count: 272
Related Categories
Book Clubs: Four thoughtful takes on #MeToo
More than two years after the #MeToo movement took off, writers have shaped the resulting conversation about sexual harassment and abuse into meaningful fiction and nonfiction that are sure to spark further discussion.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey deliver a watershed work of investigative journalism with She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement. The authors, who broke the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story for the New York Times, have crafted an eye-opening look at how #MeToo took off, sharing details about how they located sources and persuaded them to talk about Weinstein.
In Chandler Baker’s novel, Whisper Network, Rosalita, Ardie, Grace and Sloane work under Ames, who is set to become CEO of Truviv, Inc. Ames has a reputation for making advances toward women, and his latest in-office transgression leaves the four co-workers determined to take action. Writing with humor and poise about a sensitive subject, Baker introduces complicated topics that will spark plenty of conversation and spins a suspenseful plot full of surprises that book clubs will enjoy unraveling.
Susan Choi’s novel Trust Exercise, which won the National Book Award in 2019, explores #MeToo concerns from the perspective of a group of students at a performing arts school who are manipulated by their elders, particularly their formidable drama teacher, Mr. Kingsley. The novel is at once a beautifully executed coming-of-age story and an unflinching account of lost innocence and idealism. It’s sure to prompt deep discussions of gender and age dynamics, especially the power plays that occur between teens and those whom they idolize.
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators (Back Bay, $18.99, 9780316486644) by Ronan Farrow is an electrifying account of the fall of convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein and the difficulties Farrow faced in bringing the media mogul’s story to light. Farrow also looks at abuses of power by Donald Trump, Matt Lauer and other high-profile figures as he creates—and sustains—a mood of suspense throughout the narrative. From ethics questions related to journalism to issues of gender discrimination, the book offers numerous subjects for conversation.
Book Clubs: Four thoughtful takes on #MeToo
More than two years after the #MeToo movement took off, writers have shaped the resulting conversation about sexual harassment and abuse into meaningful fiction and nonfiction that are sure to spark further discussion.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey deliver a watershed work of investigative journalism with She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement. The authors, who broke the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story for the New York Times, have crafted an eye-opening look at how #MeToo took off, sharing details about how they located sources and persuaded them to talk about Weinstein.
In Chandler Baker’s novel, Whisper Network, Rosalita, Ardie, Grace and Sloane work under Ames, who is set to become CEO of Truviv, Inc. Ames has a reputation for making advances toward women, and his latest in-office transgression leaves the four co-workers determined to take action. Writing with humor and poise about a sensitive subject, Baker introduces complicated topics that will spark plenty of conversation and spins a suspenseful plot full of surprises that book clubs will enjoy unraveling.
Susan Choi’s novel Trust Exercise, which won the National Book Award in 2019, explores #MeToo concerns from the perspective of a group of students at a performing arts school who are manipulated by their elders, particularly their formidable drama teacher, Mr. Kingsley. The novel is at once a beautifully executed coming-of-age story and an unflinching account of lost innocence and idealism. It’s sure to prompt deep discussions of gender and age dynamics, especially the power plays that occur between teens and those whom they idolize.
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators (Back Bay, $18.99, 9780316486644) by Ronan Farrow is an electrifying account of the fall of convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein and the difficulties Farrow faced in bringing the media mogul’s story to light. Farrow also looks at abuses of power by Donald Trump, Matt Lauer and other high-profile figures as he creates—and sustains—a mood of suspense throughout the narrative. From ethics questions related to journalism to issues of gender discrimination, the book offers numerous subjects for conversation.